Though
Iím not a vegetarian, for a long time, I have to admit, cooking meat
intimidated me. My carnivorous culinary repertoire consisted almost
entirely of variations on the boneless breast of chicken; on the rare
occasions when I found myself hankering for something meatier, I simply
went out. This, I began to realize, was really kind of lame. There
are many good reasons not to cook meat, but fear-induced general cluelessness?
Decidedly not one of them.

So in the past year or so, spurred in part by a need to get more protein
efficiently into my system, Iíve been slowly figuring out what to do
with non-chicken breast varieties of meat. And pork, Iíve discovered,
is one of my favorites. Cooked properly, itís juicy and flavorful;
depending on the cut, it can also be relatively lean and healthy. But
perhaps one of my favorite things about pork is simple: itís really
very affordable. The classic pork chop, in particular, offers an excellent,
cheap way to get your carnivorous fix. Itís also fast and surprisingly
easy to cook up, making it the perfect choice for time-strapped, budget-constrained
quasi-adults, and a good basic recipe to have in your cooking arsenal.

Start with decent quality
chops, of course, and youíre halfway there to a delicious dinner.
Chops come from different parts of the pig,
so do read the label. Center-cut or butterfly chops are the best choice;
rib chops are also good. Just avoid the super-cheap shoulder/blade
and loin-end chops, which tend to be a lot tougher. When youíre choosing
your chops, youíll also want to look for nice fat ones if at all possible.
The scrawny ¼Ē-1/2Ē thick ones will dry out way too quickly,
resulting in a rather unappetizing, tough meal; something closer to
the ¾Ē-1Ē range will make for much juicier, yummier chops. Finally,
make sure the chops have a healthy fresh pinkish color; grayish-white
is not a good hue for your meat.